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Comment by laurieg | Hacker News Reader

To those thinking "I want to sing but I just can't sing." I encourage you to get one on one lessons with a professional.

I started out not being able to sing at all. Couldn't match the pitch, I just sounded like I was trying to "talk in tune". My voice would get very tired very quickly too.

It took a long time, but the change is huge. I can sing in tune now. I can sing much higher. It sounds pleasant. My voice doesn't get tired.

Expect to take 2 or 3 years to really get somewhere. Singing is strange, you can't really see what other singers or yourself are doing. With the piano you can take a look at your teachers hands, but with singing you have to go on a kinda of exploration into sensations in your body, with the teacher as an experienced guide.

Singing is one of the few skills I would recommend to literally everyone.

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> Singing is strange, you can't really see what other singers or yourself are doing. With the piano you can take a look at your teachers hands, but with singing you have to go on a kinda of exploration into sensations in your body, with the teacher as an experienced guide.

Actually the same is true for playing the piano as well. Piano playing is not as intuitive as people believe because it is not just the apparent vertical movement of fingers hitting the keys. Rather, it actually involves the entire lower arm from the elbow down to the finger tips working together. What you see as a concert pianist’s fingers moving up and down is a lot of the time actually a series of very rapid and infinitesimal wrist rotations and learning these rotations actually require piano students to feel the subtle muscle sensations and movement associated with those movements.

Piano is a full body experience. It requires the feet to manage pedals and the back to ensure good posture. Not to mention the head which is driving the bus! It's not just the hands and lower arms that are coordinating. In fact I'd venture to say all instruments are full body experiences. Well, maybe not kazoo...

Singing is a wonderful skill and an amazingly unique instrument. Good singing requires awareness of the lungs, diaphragm, pelvis, butt and often (if you're like me and play guitar while doing it) the upper body.

Piano has its advantages compared to others. For example, if you target a C and press the right key, you will get a C. To get this far takes continuous deliberate practice on a violin, cello, ... (However, it gets easier with larger instruments as the target zone becomes larger) Another advantage is that 1 finger can create 1 note so it's easy to do comping for yourself and others. It's no accident that in conservatoria everybody gets to learn the piano (even if it's not their first instrument) A last remark: if you sing what you play on an instrument you improve your hearing and will eventually get up to a point where things are locked in so you can play everything you can sing.

I have been wanting to work with a professional. Any advice on how to find one ?

I have a neighbor who's a professional opera singer and gives voice lessons. From what I hear, most of his opera colleagues do as well. If you live in a city with an opera company, it might be worth checking with them.

(Personally, I've taken up beginner piano with him this year!)

Look online for singing lessons. If you want to learn in person (which I'd recommend) search for teachers in your area. Most have at least a modest amount of local or online advertising. You can also checkout craigslist or ask on a local subreddit.

I found my singing teacher through a Google search, and I found my violin teacher through word of mouth.

My wife is a singing teacher and has been trained by these guys for a long time. The education and training has been a very high standard. As always your millage will vary depending on the teacher you choose and their level of experience.

https://www.vocaladvancement.com/en-us/find-a-teacher

My girlfriend is an opera singer and voice teacher who's pivoting to primarily online lessons. She's working on establishing an online presence and is offering free consultations and promotional rates. If you're interested, email me at the address in my profile. She has substantial experience teaching people with technical backgrounds (such as me) and is fluent in communicating concepts accordingly. I'd suggest at least the consultation so she can guide you in the right direction, if anything!

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